The Boyfriend Thief

Avery James has her life planned out: this summer she'll work with a humanitarian program in Costa Rica, next year she'll graduate at the top of her class, and after that, college and medical school. Perfect, planned, total order.

The only problem: getting the rest of the money she needs for the trip before the deadline. Hannah Cohen, her biggest competition for the valedictorian title, makes an unexpected offer: If Avery can win over Zac Greeley and make him break up with Hannah before the end of the school year, a check for five hundred dollars is all hers. Faced with the prospect of spending yet another summer working as a giant hot dog, it's an offer Avery can't refuse.

Zac is nothing like Avery expected. Within his chaotic world of midnight slushie runs and spontaneous dance parties, her total order is quickly falling apart while Hannah seems poised to get everything she wants. But just how much is

Avery willing to give up for the perfect, planned life?

The Boyfriend Thief is expected to be a bubble gum chic lit right? I mean just look at the cover! From the blurb you'd think it is too. So it's a story where the girl gets paid to 'steal' the boy and then she falls in love and he finds out right?

Well kind of.

Not really.

The book had serious aspects I did not expect. A list of them really: losing friendship, pushing away friends and family, trust issues, messed up parent dynamics, step parents, being judged and judging other, accepting others and accepting yourself but it does all these things in that light hearted way you want from a book with this cover.

The characters and plot were relatable in which if you wanted to be invested - you can! If you don't - you don't have to. It's easy going like that.

The main character Avery wants nothing more in life than to be normal. She wants to go to Costa Rica, find her mum and find out why she ran out on their family (and hopefully bring her back to make their family whole again). She feels this is the answer to all her problems. With her mum back her little brother will stop binging on junk food, her dad will stop reading self help books and trying to replace her mum with a new model and she can concentrate on school and beat Hannah to valedictorian.

All she needs for her trip is more money and when Hannah offers that, how can she refuse?

Especially since all she has to do is steal Hannah's boyfriend.

Zac Greeley, long time boyfriend of Hannah (Avery's ex-bestfriend turned arch-nemesis) is a disaster. He barely sleeps, doesn't concentrate in class and has the most craziest ideas possible but when he and Avery get paired together for a school project he's got many crazy ideas for that too.